Musical Children: Engaging Children In Musical Experiences

Music infused in every aspect of teaching, allows a student to fully experience learning. According to Musical Children: Engaging Children in Musical Experiences by Carolynn A. Lindeman, “Music-learning experiences should help children grow in three domains of learning: the cognitive, the psychomotor, and the affective” (Lindeman 2011, p. 15). Cognitive learning helps children to gain knowledge, think for themselves, and learn to understand concepts. Psychomotor learning helps students gain physical skills, like performing music or learning to play a new instrument. Finally affect learning allows students to grasp the feelings that music gives. These three domains of learning portray why music is important to teach in the classroom and the clear vision of what the benefits of music are. I think an important piece of music, is it gives the students a unique way to remember concepts. Once we put ideas and concepts to song, it is easier for the student to learn and master these ideas.

When I was a second grader, I can vividly remember that my teacher would play songs on her piano all throughout the day. This allowed me to grow and learn with not consciously realizing that I was learning. For example, in a social studies unit on Laura Ingalls Wilder, I could play on my guitar some of the songs that Laura may have sung. This would allow the students to grasp further knowledge on the subject in a fun, hands on way. Another example could take place in math class; if the lesson was on multiplication tables, I could take each digit at a time and sing about the numbers that can be multiplied by it. The ways to incorporate music into our classroom is truly endless. Some of my favorite examples are the ones that Ms. G has given us by adding singing to reading time. This gives the students a chance to practice reading and practice the skills that music gives the